It’s not often that a player’s first home run of the season comes in August, and it’s probably even less often that said first home run is of the pinch-hit variety. But that’s exactly what happened with former Brave Tommy La Stella on Thursday night, as his pinch-hit home run sunk the Braves, giving them a season series split with the Cubs at three games apiece.
The early game did not fare well for the home team. Mike Foltynewicz did have an easy 1-2-3 first, but the Braves were also held scoreless by Chicago starter Mike Montgomery in the bottom of the inning, as Ronald Acuña was picked off and thrown out on a steal attempt after a leadoff single.